Words for Worship

Prelude – Highland Cathedral on bagpipe

Welcome

Song – Love Divine, All Loves Excelling Worship 631 (vs 1-3)

1   Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav’n, to earth come down!
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter ev’ry trembling heart.

2   Breathe, oh, breathe thy loving Spirit
into ev’ry troubled breast;
let us all in thee inherit;
let us find thy promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.

3   Come, Almighty, to deliver;
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.

Text: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788

Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, gracious Lord, we thank you that your Holy Spirit renews the church in every age. You are the holy lawgiver, you are the salvation of your people. By your Spirit renew us in your covenant of love, and train us to care tenderly for all our neighbors, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Mission Moment – Share Life begins & Welcome Table Capital Campaign, year 3 kick off
Celebrating Vital Food Ministries!
Many thanks to Erik Wohlrabe, video editor

First Reading  – Jeremiah 31:31-34
A reading from Jeremiah:
³¹The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Word of God, word of Life. Thanks be to God.

Children’s Time – Pastor Joy

Celtic Alleluia – 174

Gospel: Matthew 22:34-46
A reading from Matthew:
³⁴When the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷He said to him, “ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. 

Message – Pastor Joy

Song – Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound Worship 779

1   Amazing grace! how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
was blind, but now I see.

2  ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!

3   Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come; ’tis grace has brought me safe thus far,and grace will lead me home.

4   The Lord has promised good to me; his word my hope secures; he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

5   When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
bright shining as the sun,
we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
than when we’d first begun.

Text: John Newton, 1725-1807, alt., sts. 1-4; anonymous, st. 5

Affirmation of Baptism
Welcome Alan Knutson

Welcome to the Family
Dan Koopmans

Prayers of the People
With confidence in God’s grace and mercy, let us pray for the church, the world, and all those in need.
A brief silence.

In your love, you speak to your church. Give courage and the bond of love to all who gather in your name, that this love turn toward our neighbors. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In your love, you create our earth filled with living things of every kind. Sustain the intricate connections among plants, insects, animals, and organisms we don’t even know or recognize. Bless the work of scientists who help us extend neighbor love to the natural world. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In your love, you guide with justice. Inspire leaders for truthful conversations and wise policies, that decisions are made for the good of all. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In your love, you tenderly care for your children and nurse them to health. Bring relief to all those who need healing, hope, or restoration this day (especially…………………………………). Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In your love, you accompany us in life’s transitions. We pray for new parents, those grieving a loss, those who are retiring, and those embarking on new ventures. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In your love, we remember those who were dear to us and now rest in you. We give thanks for Martin Luther and all who seek to reform and renew your church. Give us courage to live out your gospel, revealing your love until our days on earth have ended. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Listen as we call on you, O God, and enfold in your loving arms all for whom we pray, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Sharing Peace
Johm riab sua.
Selam.
The peace of Christ be with you all. And also with you.

Offering – A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Ben McDonald Coltvet, tuba

Offering Prayer
Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things. You have set before us these gifts of your good creation. Prepare us for your heavenly banquet, nourish us with this rich food and drink, and send us forth to set tables in the midst of a suffering world, through the bread of life, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Communion
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to God who is the giver of all good things and who revealed this abundance again with feeding the multitudes, who loved to the point of death and who beyond death, was raised from the dead and appeared to many, breaking bread with them in their homes, so that we might believe.

Remember, beloved ones… how in the night in which he was betrayed our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it and gave it to his disciples saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.

O God of resurrection and new life: pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on the gifts of bread and cup. Bless this feast. Grace our tables with your presence. Reveal yourself to us in the sharing of the bread. Raise us up as the body of Christ for the world. Breathe new life into us. Send us forth, burning with justice, peace, and love.

With your holy ones in all times and places, we praise you, O God, blessed and holy Trinity, now and forever. Amen.

Invitation to Communion
Come to the banquet table where Christ gives himself as food and drink.

Now, if you are gathered with others, when the music begins, please share with one another first the bread and then the cup with the words, 

The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, poured out for you.

If you are by yourself, I offer this invitation… 

Receive the body of Christ, given for you.
Receive the blood of Christ, poured out for you.

And if for any reason you will not receive Communion bread & cup today, a blessing for you…

May God fill you up with the Holy Spirit and give you all that you need.

Communion Song – Let Us Go Now to the Banquet – Worship 523
Vamos todos al banquete                  

ENGLISH
Refrain
Let us go now to the banquet,
to the feast of the universe.
The table’s set and a place is waiting;
come, ev’ryone, with your gifts to share.

1   I will rise in the early morning;
the community’s waiting for me.
With a spring in my step I’m walking
with my friends and my family.  Refrain

2   God invites all the poor and hungry
to the banquet of justice and good
where the harvest will not be hoarded
so that no one will lack for food.  Refrain

3   May we build such a place among us
where all people are equal in love.
God has called us to work together
and to share ev’rything we have.  Refrain

SPANISH
Estribillo
Vamos todos al banquete,
a la mesa de la creación;
cada cual con su taburete
tiene un puesto y una misión.

1   Hoy me levanto muy temprano;
ya me espera la comunidad;
voy subiendo alegre la cuesta,
voy en busca de tu amistad.  Estribillo

2   Dios invita a todos los pobres
a esta mesa común por la fe,
donde no hay acaparadores
y a nadie le falta el conqué.  Estribillo

3   Dios nos manda a hacer de este mundo
una mesa donde haya igualdad,
trabajando y luchando juntos,
compartiendo la propiedad.  Estribillo

Text: Guillermo Cuéllar, b. 1955, Misa popular salvadoreña; tr. Bret Hesla, b. 1957, and William Dexheimer Pharris, b. 1956

Text © 1988, 1996 GIA Publications, Inc., 7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638. www.giamusic.com. 800.442.3358. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Prayer after Communion
We give you thanks, gracious God, that you have once again fed us with food beyond compare, the body and blood of Christ. Lead us from this place, nourished and forgiven, into your beloved vineyard to wipe away the tears of all who hunger and thirst, guided by the example of the same Jesus Christ and led by the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Cambodian Lord’s Prayer

Blessing
Mothering God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you and lead you into the way of truth and life. Amen 

Song –

Song – To Be Your Presence Worship 546

1          To be your presence is our mission here,
to show compassion’s face and list’ning ear,
to be your heart of mercy ever near, alleluia!

2          To be your presence is our mission bold,
to feed the poor and shelter homeless cold,
to be your hands of justice, right uphold, alleluia!

3          To be your presence is our mission blest,
to speak for all the broken and oppressed,
to be your voice of hope, your love expressed, alleluia!

4          We are your heart, O Christ, your hands and voice,
to serve your people is our call and choice,
and in this mission we, the church, rejoice, alleluia!

Text: Delores Dufner, OSB, b. 1939
Text © 2000 GIA Publications, Inc., 7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638. www.giamusic.com. 800.442.3358. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Charge
Go in peace. Remember the poor. Thanks be to God. 

Postlude –The Church’s One Foundation
Paul Swenson, organ